Rest Day

this morning my joints were sore and there was a weird pain on the top of my right foot. M had a hard day with STAR testing and was in NO MOOD for dance class and was all kinds of agreeable when i suggested we go for dip. the middle school where she'll be going in the fall has a nice pool just a mile or so away from our house. i purchased a swim pass for each of us. i can swim laps while she goofs off at the shallow end. every so often i'd join her for a bit then i'd slip back into the slow lane for a few laps. we did that for close to an hour.

i have no idea how many laps i did i do know that i still suck at bilateral breathing and look like a dork everytime i try to breath on the left side...left arm flails like i'm flagging down a taxi...i found myself ...for a brief moment getting irritated and then i reminded myself "uh, your not training your doing a recovery swim chill" ...and the rest of the swim was quite nice.

sundays 10 miler was flat and boring. i needed to get it over with so i could help T paint. 1:56:26 the room is painted....it's very bright ...still i like how it's coming along.

oops!

reviewing my mileage this week i made a um, slight, uh error in the figures...i ran 25 miles NOT 35 miles...switching long runs from sunday to saturday is what bumped up the milage last week...that and the fact that i need glasses...and misread the garmin...blah blah blah...anyhoo...can't take credit where it isn't do.


still i'm getting shit done!


on the home front....any do it yourselfer knows a room redo is most likely going to end up in multiple trips to the paint store ...the pink tangerine combo i envisioned looks more like melted sherbert....too "babyish" as M put it. so my poor husband will have to fix it...luckily he's an artist (ooh did i just say that?, i'm often annoyed by his hyper sense of aesthetics!)and can make the melted gooey colors come alive and vibrant.....M is losing faith in my vision.......

that's right, MY vision....it started with the quilt i'm making her which she likes...it's just we're a bit IMPATIENT around here with the PROCESS.......

....and things got rather heated (inside this time) over color and how they look different on the wall compared to the fan deck.....blah blah blah....

anyway i'm going for a slow FLAT 10 miler now my legs need a break from hills!

Rough Week

it's been pretty hot around the bay area lately and well truth be told between this and getting my runs in later rather than earlier has been harsh. still i pulled off 35 miles this week and aside from grumpy buttocks and achey legs my head is still on straight and i am pleased as punch with my progress.

i stopped by title nine yesterday for some moldable inserts for my montrails and was a little shocked when my request to post a running partner ad on the community bullentine board was denied....it apppears they don't have an official forum for this. so, not taking no for an answer i inquired further as to how this store plans to be more community oriented...they being the only women's running store in the area.

aside from being a pricey running gear shop it seems like they could really make an impact by sponsoring local events and focusing on running moms and their kids....kind've a shame really. i left my info with the store manager and she said they had a spring running group last year and plan to do it again later in the summer.

today is all about emptying M's room and prepping it to paint. look out for before and after pictures .

Miday Run

thanks to an exceptionally exasperating patient...i had plenty of motivation to run at lunchtime....a HOT 3-4 miler...i must've left the garmin on after yesterday's run because when i went to turn it on 0 hrs. battery was left...oh well i had taken the time earlier to map out a 4 mile route using my car odometer...2 miles each way ...after only a couple of blocks i knew that it was going to be dreadful so i took a shortcut through the high school. i'm giving myself the benefit of the doubt that i ran at the very least 3.5 miles in around 40 minutes...as i mentioned it was HOT and when i was done i beelined for the patio off of the gym and stretched awhile on the cool cement.

everyone at work thinks i'm nuts for running in the heat. i had a water bottle and i was SLOOOOOOOW. taking a shortcut was smart and it kept me from being over exposed....i'm not used to running in the heat at all....but with a marathon smack dab in the middle of Indian Summer i need to get used to it.

one of my co-workers is like a mom to us all she always brings us stuff to eat. we're a pretty close bunch sharing food and eating together often but after last summer when i swam at lunchtime they came to accept my skipping lunch with them to workout. for lunch i ate a bowel of cherrios and that same co-worker set aside a banana for me....how sweet is that huh?

Strawberry Canyon

i couldn't figure out why i was so tired this morning...i slept in until almost 7am....then i remembered i took a Benedryl lastnight. a few cups of coffee later Brandy and I headed out to Strawberry Canyon for a hill workout.

Taking Brandy always changes the focus a bit. Between keeping her properly hydrated and on the main trail always slows me down (not to mention Big Bertha and her minions!) she's one happy pooch i tell ya. especially once we get to the good mud holes.

i've been going back and forth with which marathon program to follow....Free being the operative word here i think i'm in shape enough to go intermediate with the
Cool Running on-line plan. i may need to tweek the schedule here and there but i think i'm headed in the right direction.

Up and Running...but at a price

in my haste to get to the computer shop yesterday before it was closed it appeared that i ripped out one of the plugs.....the mouse ..... in addition to being charged to have the disc removed i paid an additional $10.00 for another mouse..only to discover that when i got home my mouse was intact. i still don't know where that broken plug came from?? he asked me how much i thought he should charge...he said $30.00 i countered $25.00.....still, the unecessary purchase of another mouse cancelled any "deal" i made.

oh well, now i can start posting pictures again.

Train Don't Strain -Running Maxim

4/21 saturday 10.0 mi 2:00:47
4/20 friday 6.29 mi 1:08:26
4/18 wednesday 8:51 mi 2:03:16
4/17 tuesday 4.02 mi 38:38
4/15 sunday 7:12 mi 1:48:11

35.95 miles total for the week. i have to thank the local weather for geting me to squeeze more in as the training schedule and Nature did NOT play well together at all this week.


Long runs are now 10 miles. a moderately challenging route, i have to say I FELT GREAT THE WHOLE TIME. the arch of my left foot felt a little weird for the first mile or two than it stopped. my breathing was even ...not one single side stitch. i concentrated alot on just relaxing. everytime i approached a hill i took a deep breath reminding myself: it's just a hill, no need for speed, take your time. it was gray and cool yesterday....perfect running conditions for a hilly course. i took the usual Lone oak trail to the Nimitz. once i got through the first cattle gate instead of taking san pablo ridge i veered to the left a discovered Muzane(sp?) Trail. this turned out to be a good move. it was about a mile shorter as i only wanted to cover 10 miles.

i love fast descents and this part of trail was mostly just that: fast and downhill. when i got to the bottom i hopped another cattle gate and made my way back towards Lone Oak. at the 9.90 mile mark my ipod battery died.....how's that for lucky? i really have grown attached to tunes while running i'm glad the battery hung in there for the majority of the run. 10 miles in 2:00:47

M's room is getting a makeover. it's taking longer than expected and emptying the room out completely before painting is a major ordeal. i recently pulled out her quilt squares and have them on the audition board. it's been months since i've even looked at them....i've been playing with them all week and think i have it figured out. she's still fond of my color choices. shopping for paint, we're looking for tangerine and soft pinks to compliment the quilt. she traded her bunk beds for a daybed and we got rid of a desk that she's outgrown. i know this would be more interesting with pictures but something is going amok in the hardrive and i'll be without a computer for awhile after today getting it checked out.

still running solo.....

but not entirely alone. i picked up a few running books this week:
The Lore of Running, Noakes ...i'm really liking this one....more than i thought
The Runner's Literary Companion .....The Lovliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Sarah Maitland ...i loved the line "running is my animal"
and The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration.

Have A Great Day!